QA Process Optimization: Agile & Automated Testing
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QA Process Optimization: Agile & Automated Testing
This course is part of Software QA & Test Automation Engineering Specialization
Instructors: Igor Arkhipov
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What you'll learn
Explain and articulate the role of QA in agile software development
Implement upfront quality thinking in the software development lifecycle
Define the scope of automation testing for an agile project
Analyze and optimize the QA process based on best practices and data insights
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There is 1 module in this course
Quality has been a thorny issue for the software development industry. From early programs to modern applications, software has always been prone to bugs- defects that shouldn’t be there yet often make their way into production, diminishing user experience and frustrating developers. Ensuring that the final product works as expected is the core responsibility of QA practices and processes. However, this is easier said than done. The QA function is often misunderstood and forgotten, especially in agile environment where principles like “progress over perfection” and “fail fast to learn fast” made practitioners shift their focus away from thoughtful quality management.
Managing quality is not about eliminating every bug and issue. It may not even be possible. Instead, it’s about building software development processes that are able to deliver the expected results which the team commits to. Predictability, as a key measure of quality, allows teams to adjust their throughput by consciously deciding on the acceptable quality levels for their final products. In this course, we will explore how to design and structure an effective quality process in the modern agile team through collaboration and automation. We will look at tools and techniques that work; and combine them with meaningful measures, which will allow us not only position QA function appropriately within the agile delivery process but also improve and fine-tune it over time This course is designed for professionals involved in ensuring software quality within agile environments. It is ideal for software testers, quality engineers, developers, scrum masters, agile coaches, and team managers who are engaged in or responsible for agile development processes. Whether you’re directly testing code or guiding agile delivery practices, this course equips you with the tools and strategies to elevate quality assurance in your team. To fully benefit from this course, learners should have a foundational understanding of the software development lifecycle, software testing principles, and agile methodologies. Prior exposure to agile project environments will help contextualize the QA concepts presented and allow for easier application of best practices in real-world scenarios. By the end of the course, learners will be able to clearly define the role of QA in agile development and integrate quality practices from the earliest stages of the software lifecycle. They’ll learn to scope effective automation strategies and use data insights to continuously refine the QA process. These skills will help teams deliver higher-quality software with greater predictability and alignment to user expectations.
In this course, you’ll explore how to design and implement a quality assurance (QA) process tailored for agile software development teams. Through real-world examples and hands-on activities, you’ll learn to integrate collaboration, automation, and meaningful metrics into your QA practices. You’ll also evaluate tools and techniques that enhance predictability and refine quality standards, enabling your team to deliver reliable, high-performing software in fast-paced agile environments.
What's included
14 videos7 readings1 assignment4 peer reviews2 discussion prompts
14 videos•Total 95 minutes
- Introduction and Welcome •3 minutes
- What is Agile QA? •8 minutes
- Acceptance Criteria and Definition of Done •6 minutes
- Integrating QA in Agile Ceremonies •9 minutes
- Foundations of Test Automation •9 minutes
- TDD & BDD •7 minutes
- Agile Test Scenarios Management •8 minutes
- Understanding Record and Play Automation•12 minutes
- Building Visual Regression Tests with Ghost Inspector•7 minutes
- QA and DevOps •5 minutes
- Creating an Agile Quality Strategy •7 minutes
- Metrics and KPIs for Agile QA •6 minutes
- Ongoing QA Optimization •7 minutes
- Congratulations and Continuous Learning Journey•3 minutes
7 readings•Total 35 minutes
- Welcome to the Course: Course Overview•5 minutes
- Agile Methodology Testing Best Practices & Why They Matter•5 minutes
- Acceptance Criteria and Definition of Done - Examples •5 minutes
- Example of a Three Amigos Conversation •5 minutes
- How to hold Three Amigos Meetings in Agile Development •5 minutes
- Agile QA metrics definitions •5 minutes
- Pragmatic Ways to Measure Quality of a Software Project •5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Agile QA Process Optimization•30 minutes
4 peer reviews•Total 90 minutes
- Hands-On-Learning: Definition of Done •10 minutes
- Hands-On-Learning: Perform Simple Web Automation •10 minutes
- Hands-On-Learning: Interpreting QA metrics for optimization •10 minutes
- Project: A Hands-on Case Study to Define Test Strategy for a Given Project•60 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 10 minutes
- Why Clear Definition of Done is Important?•5 minutes
- What are the Benefits and Challenges of Continuous Testing? •5 minutes
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Reviewed on Sep 17, 2025
The course was very engaging, and I hope it will contribute positively to my professional development.
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